Facebook loses millions of users in US

Official statistics from Nielsen have revealed a decline in the total active users of Facebook, with usage of the social media service reduced in both the UK and the US.

The total number of users of Facebook in the UK had previously reached 28 million, but is now around 26 million. There has been an even greater decease in the total number of visitors to the service from the USA, with 142 million people using Facebook in April 2013, compared to 153 million for the same period in 2012. Peak Facebook membership in the United States was 158 million in August 2012, meaning the total reduction in users is around 16 million.

Facebook remains well ahead of their competitors in terms of total users, despite Google+ overtaking Twitter as the second most popular choice at the start of 2013. This can largely be attributed to the growth of Facebook in developing nations where widespread internet access has only become available recently. In total, Facebook claims 1.11 billion worldwide users, up 23 per cent from the 2012 figure.

Facebook profits remain strong

Despite the decrease in users for Facebook in key customer areas, overall the company remains highly successful. Facebook made profits of $219m (£141m) in the first three months of the year, compared to $205m in the corresponding period from 2012. Revenues in the first quarter totalled $1.46bn (£1bn), versus $1.06bn (£680m) in 2012. Mobile advertisements for Facebook have also improved, accounting for 30 per cent of total advertising revenues in the first quarter, up from 23 per cent in the final months of 2012.

Kleon West, business development manager at theEword remarked: “While Facebook will be disappointed to see that they have lost a significant number of users, they remain by far the market leader and profits are still extremely healthy. It remains to be seen if we will see Facebook making any significant changes in the near future in an attempt to attract new members, or win back those users who have departed the service recently”.

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